It Takes a Second to Say Goodbye
by angstydaydreams
Summary: DWWP (Danny Whump Without Plot) Danny takes an unexpected swim in the ocean. Steve and Max have to save him. McDanno. Established Relationship. Near Drowning.


It Takes a Second to Say Goodbye

Steve froze. Just for a split second. One tiny moment when he stared in slack jawed shock at the empty space where Danny had just been standing. His back had been turned but he'd heard the rigging snap and had seen the boom fly wildly across the deck. And then he'd heard a solid whump, a loud splash, and when Steve had turned, Danny was gone.

"Commander McGarrett!"

Max's desperate cry jolted him out of it. And then he was moving, kicking his shoes off and sprinting towards the rail of the sailboat, launching himself up and over, noting as he dove cleanly into the murky green water that Danny was nowhere in sight.

Steve broke to the surface, treading water as he stilled, lifting his head to the breeze and letting the current take him. And then he was on the move, slipping back beneath the surface with a powerful kick as he began to swim in the direction he was sure Danny was drifting. Twice he pushed to the surface, sucked another lungful of air and dove back down.

He was about to have to surface a third time when he saw it. Golden anemones wafting in the murk. It could only be one thing. Danny's blond hair.

On his last reserves of oxygen, Steve surged forward and grabbed Danny, kicking with all his strength to drive them both up to the surface. By the time he broke free he was gasping for air, his body trembling from the exertion.

Danny's head lolled against his shoulder and with shaky hands, Steve pressed two fingers against the pulse point in Danny's neck.

Nothing.

Fighting to keep the both of them above water, Steve kicked vigorously with his legs, moving them back in the direction from which they'd come. He paused to slip his hand around Danny's back. Cradling Danny's head against the crook of his arm, he desperately bent down and pressed his lips to Danny's mouth, forcing air into Danny's lungs.

Danny's face was slack, his eyes closed, his skin pale and cold.

"Come on, Danny," Steve whispered as his trembling fingers anxiously sought for a pulse in Danny's neck. Still nothing.

Steve pressed his lips to Danny's once more, but Danny's lips remained soft and pliant, offering no resistance as Steve blew all the air he could muster into Danny's lungs. But there was no change. Danny remained heavy and unmoving in his arms.

He heard the Coast Guard cutter that had brought them out to their crime scene bearing down on them, and Steve drew Danny closer to his chest to protect him from the rising swells of the ocean.

"Commander McGarrett!" Max called.

Steve glanced up to see their medical examiner throwing a life preserver towards him. The diminutive man had excellent aim and Steve snagged it with his free hand, keeping a firm hold on Danny as they were pulled in towards the boat.

"Be careful of Detective Williams' head and neck," Max shouted the order as Steve tried as carefully as possible to hand Danny off to the waiting Coast Guardsmen at the rail.

"He's not breathing," Steve gasped as Danny's limp body was eased to the deck. "Max, Danny's not breathing."

Max didn't respond, his attention fully on Danny as Steve clambered over the side of the cutter and collapsed boneless on the deck. His limbs felt as if they were carrying hundred pound lead weights, so he sat, unable to do anything other than simply pant for breath as Max began administering CPR, his arms and body rigid as he forcefully pressed his interlaced fingers against Danny's still chest.

"Come on, Danny," Steve heard himself muttering.

Danny's mouth hung partly open, his lips tinged blue. His wet hair was plastered to his skull, and blood welled from a cut on his temple, the delicate skin already swollen and mottled with bruises. Danny's body shuddered slightly with each thrust of Max's hands on his chest. But he didn't rouse to offer any sort of protest. His limbs sprawled slack against the deck.

As Max continued chest compressions, a corpsman carefully fit two rolled towels on either side of Danny's head, securing them in place with a piece of tape across his forehead. Steve raised his fist to his mouth, struggling to drive back the fear and panic, ordering himself to believe that Danny was going to be okay, that Max would get him breathing again. And Danny would be back to his old cantankerous self in no time. There was absolutely no other option.

His eyes fixed on his unresponsive partner, he flinched in shock as the fast moving cutter unexpectedly lurched and dipped, sending a fine spray of water across the deck, splattering himself, Max and Danny like a sudden downpour of rain. He flung a hand out to steady himself and stared in amazement as his usually mild mannered M.E., water dripping down his face, continued CPR without even a second's hesitation and let out a string of curses aimed at the cutter's pilot.

The pilot reddened, pursing his lips, though he didn't bother to state the obvious—that the bump in the road wasn't really his fault. Instead he eased back on the throttle, seemingly more determined than ever to keep the ride back to the dock as smooth as possible.

"I'll do rescue breathing, you take over chest compressions," Max ordered, switching places with the corpsman. Max shifted up to Danny's head, carefully tilting his chin up, pinching his nose and easing his lips apart. He bent down, covering Danny's mouth with his own and delivered two quick breaths.

Max looked down at the corpsman. "Go," he said tersely.

The corpsman immediately interlaced his fingers and began pressing down on Danny's chest. Max hovered at Danny's shoulder, his body tense, poised to take over if the other man didn't perform to Max's satisfaction. Most cases of failed CPR were the result of improperly delivered compressions. If the compressions weren't strong enough, or if the placement wasn't exactly right, it would fail to do its job. The victim was lost. It took an extraordinary amount of strength to compress the chest, thirty times in a row, hard enough to matter. Exhaustion in the care providers was not uncommon, causing the compressions to become less effective with each one. Therefore CPR was most effective with a two person team, switching off between compressions and rescue breathing to preserve strength.

Steve clenched his fists and eased closer to Danny's still form.

When the corpsman hit thirty compressions, Max again tilted Danny's head back, delivering two more breaths. The corpsman reached up, pressing two fingers to Danny's neck. He shook his head. No pulse.

"Switch," Max said tersely, moving back to Danny's ribcage and once again positioning his hands over Danny's breastbone. The heel of Max's hand dug brutally at Danny's chest, but Steve couldn't take his eyes away. One thought on constant repeat in his head. Come back to me Danny, come back.

Steve crawled forward, positioning himself at Danny's head, resting the palm of his hand on Danny's brow. As Max hit thirty and pulled his hands away, Steve bent down, easing open Danny's jaws and covering Danny's mouth with his own. He blew out deeply before pulling away, but as before there was no response. No sign that anything they were doing was making a difference.

"Jesus, Danny," Steve choked, "Come on." He blinked back tears and again rested his lips over Danny's, delivering another breath. Unable to bring himself to pull away, he lingered, nipping lightly at Danny's lips. He nuzzled Danny's cheek and pressed a kiss to Danny's forehead. Tears in his eyes, his voice ragged, he begged, "Fight Danny. Please fight for me."

And then Danny's chest suddenly heaved and he let out a choking cough, water dribbling from his mouth.

Max pressed his fingers to Danny's neck, glanced up at Steve and finally smiled.

"Danny?" Steve stared down at his partner, placing a hand gently on Danny's cheek. "You with us, babe?"

Danny blinked, his blue eyes cloudy with confusion. He tried to turn his head, but between the towels and Steve's hands he didn't get very far.

He opened his mouth to speak and immediately began coughing. His brow pinched in pain and Steve reached down and took his hand. Danny's fingers clenched, fingernails digging so hard into Steve's skin that Steve bit back a slight yelp.

"Careful, Detective," Max said, snapping his fingers at one of the corpsman and calling for portable oxygen. "Don't move or try to speak."

Each breath a rattling wheeze, Danny pinched his lips together before finally forcing his eyes open again and looked up at Steve. "'Wha…happened?" he spluttered.

"You took an unexpected swim in the ocean," Steve gave his partner a sympathetic smile. "If you wanted to go swimming today, all you had to do was tell me. We could have swung by the beach on the way home."

"Ha!" Danny coughed, grimacing slightly. "Lemme up," he groaned, stubbornly trying to roll himself over.

Steve pressed his hand firmly to Danny's upper chest, stopping his partner in his tracks.

Another coughing fit ensued and Danny startled when Max suddenly pressed an oxygen mask to his face.

"You _must_ remain _still_ Detective Williams," Max repeated sharply, frowning down at his patient. "You could have compromised your spinal cord when you fell off the boat."

"Hey, " Steve admonished the medical examiner with a slight frown of his own. "Easy there, Max."

"Oh," Max stammered, staring at Steve momentarily before glancing back down at Danny. "I am sorry, Detective. I'm better with corpses."

At Steve's low growl, Max continued hurriedly, "Let me explain. You may have spinal injuries that could lead to paralysis. You must remain immobile until the doctors clear you at the hospital. Standard protocol in near drowning cases is to treat with oxygen until the doctors can check your blood oxygen levels. Acute respiratory distress will be a concern for at least the next twenty four hours which could lead to intubation to ensure adequate oxygenation levels."

"You have a… lovely…bedside manner, Max. Those corpses are lucky bastards," Danny rasped, his voice muffled under the mask. He rolled his eyes slightly towards Steve.

"Why, thank you," Max smiled, glancing at Steve with pride.

Steve smothered a grin. He slid his hand down Danny's stomach, leaning forward slightly and meeting Danny's tired gaze.

"How you doing, Danno?" Steve asked quietly.

"I hate the water," Danny groused, his eyes blinking sleepily.

"I know you do, babe," Steve took Danny's hand, brushing the pad of his thumb across Danny's knuckles.

"No more crime scenes on boats," Danny scowled.

"You got it, Danno," Steve agreed with a smile.

"Excuse me, but we can't control where the crime scenes are Commander," Max interjected, a puzzled look on his face.

"Max," Steve glanced a warning at the protesting medical examiner. "Let it go."

"Next time you take Chin," Danny whispered with a cough.

"Done," Steve promised, smiling softly down at Danny as he ran a finger through Danny's damp tousled hair, brushing a loose strand from his forehead.

The boat jolted when it pulled up to the dock and Danny flinched. His grip on Steve's hand tightened.

"You're gonna be okay, Danny," Steve promised, leaning forward and brushing his lips against Danny's uninjured temple.

Steve let go of Danny's hand, moving out of the way of the paramedics as they climbed on board, assessed Danny's condition, got him on a backboard and bundled him onto the gurney.

As Steve began to follow Danny to the ambulance he felt Max grab his arm.

"He'll be okay, Commander," Max said, his eyes large and earnest. "I'll call the others. We'll meet you at the hospital."

It wasn't until Max pressed a pair of shoes into Steve's hands that Steve remembered he'd kicked them off when he went after Danny. Gratefully he took the shoes, gripping Max's arm.

"Thank you, Max," Steve said quietly, pausing for a moment to catch Max's eye before bolting after his partner and climbing into the ambulance.

Steve settled into the corner, out of the way of the paramedic, and gazed at his partner. Danny's eyes were closed—he barely seemed to notice the paramedic cutting off his soggy clothes, replacing them with warm blankets, attaching monitor leads, inserting an IV and taking his vitals.

Steve leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands, pushing down hard with his elbows to stop the jittering in his leg. It seemed like an eternity before they finally pulled into the hospital ambulance bay, and Danny had barely stirred the entire trip.

The ambulance doors swung open, revealing a familiar face. Maddy Sutton, Grace's scout leader and a nurse at Queens.

Steve had never been happier to see her.

"He almost drowned, Maddy," Steve gulped. His chest felt tight and for a moment the world swayed. He braced himself against the side of the ambulance. "God, Maddy, he almost drowned."

"Well take good care of him Steve. I promise," Maddy assured him as she helped pull Danny's gurney from the ambulance.

Before he could respond, they'd already whisked Danny away.

-H50-

Steve leaned back in the uncomfortable chair, folded his arms over his chest and glowered at the clock across the room. He would have sworn the clock was broken, that time had in fact stopped, but for the fact the clock matched the watch on his wrist along with the time on Chin's phone. Which meant only three hours had passed since he'd last seen Danny. It felt more like twelve.

Chin, Kono and Max were sprawled in nearby seats. By Steve's tenth monosyllabic grunt in response to questions, they'd finally given up, falling into silence. Every once in a while, out of the corner of his eye, he caught them exchanging looks, but his gaze remained focused on the clock, on holding his body rigid and inert so he wouldn't give in to his urge to punch the wall.

And then finally he saw Maddy step into the waiting room. Steve rose to his feet in one smooth motion, his stomach flipping as he surged towards her.

"How's Danny?" He blurted out.

"Grumpy," Maddy grinned. "But overall, okay. We're moving him to a room, and once we get him settled you can go visit."

"How bad is the head injury? Any damage to his spinal cord?" Steve interrogated her, his mouth set in a thin line.

"He has a mild concussion." Maddy reached out and squeezed Steve's hand. She motioned him to sit down in a nearby empty chair. Once Steve was seated she sat down next to him and continued. "His C-Spine was clear. He does have a couple of broken ribs and mild hypothermia. So far he's not shown any sign of respiratory distress, but we'll be keeping an eye on him for the next twenty four hours to be sure."

Steve let out a long sigh of relief, leaning back against the seat and closing his eyes.

"He's going to be all right, Steve," Maddy reassured him softly. "He got very lucky."

"Thank you, Maddy," Steve nodded. He glanced up at the rest of his team, his eyes settling on Max. "And thank you Max. You saved Danny's life."

"No…I didn't…" Max stammered. "You're the one who pulled him out and besides…" The medical examiner paused, his eyes shifting downwards. "It's my fault he went in."

"What are you talking about, Max?" Steve asked, puzzled.

"Detective Williams pushed me out of the way," Max explained, shoving his hands into his pockets. "He saved my life."

"It was instinctual, Max," Kono smiled, gently settling her hand on Max's shoulder. "Not your fault."

Max nodded, swallowing hard as he sat down heavily in a chair across from Steve.

"I'm gonna get back," Maddy said, giving Steve's arm one more squeeze before she stood up. "I'll come get you when we have him ready."

"Thank you again, Maddy." Steve leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked gratefully at the nurse. "It made me feel better, knowing you were with him."

"Anytime," Maddy smiled.

Steve watched as she quickly made her way back down the hall and out of sight. He sighed, glancing at the clock, its second's hand marching just as slowly forward as before. His body pinged with tension. His need to see Danny was overwhelming. He'd nearly lost him. In the space of an instant Danny had vanished. No time for goodbyes or last words. Just gone.

Steve's stomach lurched. His leg jittered. His eyes trained on the clock. And he watched the seconds tick down, one by one, until he could see Danny again.

-H50-

Steve followed close on Maddy's heels. Chin, Kono, and Max had gone. Despite Danny's accident, they still had a crime scene and a body to process, and reluctantly the remaining three members of the team had left Steve to pick up where HPD and the Coast Guard had left off.

By the time Maddy had finally reappeared in the waiting room, Steve had been at the end of his rope, about ten seconds away from instigating a search and tracking down Danny on his own. He followed her into a small, private room.

Danny was propped on his side, the bed slightly elevated to ease the pressure on his broken ribs. He was covered to the neck in blankets. An oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping. A heart monitor beeped quietly off to the side and several IV bags hung from a pole next to the bed. Their wires and tubing snaked under the heavy bedcovers.

"He's sleeping off a light sedative," Maddy explained softly. "We pumped the water from his stomach, and it's not exactly the most pleasant experience."

"I hate the ocean," Danny rasped, his blue eyes slits. "And if Nurse Ratchett over there ever comes after me with a tube like that again I'm running."

"It would amuse me to see you try," Maddy cocked her head at her patient and smiled.

"Hey Danny," Steve grinned. He sat down on a stool next to the bed and slid his hand under the covers wrapping his fingers around Danny's palm.

"Hey…" Danny smiled sleepily, his fingers curling around Steve's hand.

"How are you feeling?" Steve asked.

"Kinda warm and floaty," Danny murmured, his eyes beginning to lose focus.

"Maybe you should go back to sleep," Steve suggested, tenderly massaging the back of Danny's hand with the pad of his thumb.

"Mmmm…" Danny sighed, his eyes closing again, his fingers going lax.

"I'm gonna leave you guys," Maddy said softly. "If you need anything, just hit the call button."

Steve nodded his thanks, sliding the stool closer to the bed so he could lean against the mattress. He draped his arm above Danny's head and played with a piece of Danny's long blond hair. Though he liked to tease Danny about the amount of product he used to keep his hair in place, the truth was he loved Danny's hair, with product or without. The seawater had washed Danny's hair clean and now the long strands slipped soft and fine through his fingers.

"Mmmmm….that feels good," Danny sighed. He turned his head slightly towards Steve's hand but didn't open his eyes.

"Still floaty?" Steve smiled down at his partner.

"Mmmm…" Danny breathed, his lips curling into a slight smile.

"You breathing okay?" Steve asked softly, continuing to run his fingers through Danny's hair.

"Hurts a little," Danny whispered, peering up at Steve through half closed eyes. "Doc said it was the CPR. Broke a few ribs."

"Yeah," Steve ran a finger along Danny's cheekbone. "I'm sorry about that."

"You and Max saved my life," Danny said, forcing his eyes open to look up at Steve. "I'm grateful for what you both did."

"I think you gave me about fifty new gray hairs today," Steve grinned. "Don't ever do it again, okay?"

"Kay," Danny sighed. He gazed up at Steve, his blue eyes soft. "Sorry I scared you. If you take the mask off for a second, I can make it up to you with a kiss."

"I'd like that," Steve smiled. "But just for a second. You need the oxygen support right now."

Steve carefully worked the mask from Danny's face and set it aside on the pillow. He leaned down and tenderly took Danny's mouth with his own. He drank deep, and Danny responded in kind, their tongues tangling. Steve suckled Danny's lower lip, eliciting a low moan from his partner before Steve finally pulled away.

The door to the hospital room flew open and Maddy stood in the doorway. One glance turned her look of concern into a smile. "Danny's heart rate spiked. Now I see why." She shook her head. "Put the mask back on, please."

She was still smiling as she turned and left the room.

"Whoops, busted," Steve grinned, easing the mask back over Danny's face and adjusting the straps.

"Damn heart monitor," Danny groused sleepily, his eyes closing despite his efforts to keep them open.

"You'll be out of here soon enough," Steve said softly, gently dropping a kiss on Danny's temple. "Go to sleep, babe."

"Love you, Steve," Danny sighed, drifting to sleep.

"I love you too, Danny," Steve murmured. He pressed his lips to Danny's forehead one more time before settling on the stool so he could watch his partner sleep.

~~Fin.


End file.
